A Not Too Shabby Weekend!

I bid farewell to my brother this weekend as he left our house to board his flight back home to Virginia. I haven't seen him in 6 years; he is married to a wonderful woman, and they have 3 great kids. I was pleasantly surprised when I got his email, a few weeks ago, about coming to see me for a weekend. Next time I'm hoping that he brings my sister-in-law with him!

He got to meet our son, Eli, and both kids were completely taken with him. They played and chatted, and even snuggled on the couch with him. It was awesome to see, and it melted my heart. Getting to sit around and talk about our memories, share jokes, laugh over stupid movies, and worship together at church was such food for my soul.

It rained for most of the day on Saturday, so we just sat around, chatted, and watched some TV. Then, later in the afternoon, the sun came out and we got to enjoy some time outside with the kids. We are ALL a little tired of the rain and humidity here in North Texas. For many people with MS, our symptoms worsen during bad weather, and I am no exception. The weeks of rain and humidity have made my nerve pain, fatigue, headaches and restlessness much worse than normal. 

But over the weekend, the weather broke, and my symptoms seemed to lessen somewhat. I still had some pretty crazy nerve pain and pins and needles on Saturday, then I didn't notice it much at all on Sunday. I didn't have any leg weakness or pain during church. We took my brother to downtown Dallas, where we went to lunch and toured the Sixth Floor Museum in Dealey Plaza. Not once did I feel weak or in pain, and that was such a blessing. I got to enjoy the entire day with my brother, without being sidelined by MS. I did have a headache for much of the day, but I'm pretty sure that's coming from the Gilenya adjustment. It finally passed in the early evening. 

It was so nice to finally get somewhat of a break from the symptoms that have been messing with me for so long. Oh, don't get me wrong - the cognitive shit never goes away. I still have memory issues and I still have a hard time coming up with words pretty regularly. I still drop things. But I had something of a break in regards to pain for the few days that my brother was here, and I was so thankful for that. 

As my friend Alex King says, the bad days with MS lead you to really appreciate the not-so-bad days, and this is so true. 

Oh, and I also signed up and created a team for the MS Muck Fest in Dallas on September 29th. It's a 5K mud run that benefits MS research. I posted about this event on the local page for Camp Gladiator, the group/company/family that I workout with, and SO MANY people have said they're interested! Trainers are pulling people in, encouraging them to sign up, and I am so encouraged by this incredible outpouring of support! As a somewhat invisible illness, MS can be a very isolating disease...it can be easy to feel overwhelmed and lonely in our fight to live a somewhat normal life. Having the support that I have through this CG family has helped me so much, and seeing the positive response to this race was just one more way that they were coming alongside to fight this MS madness with me. 

So, overall, an amazing weekend with family, and a break (of sorts) in the MS pain. I'm still waiting to hear back from my doc about these headaches that just won't go away, but I'm enjoying the hours that are free from all the other nerve pain. 

To all of my friends and family who are praying for me (and our family) through this journey - Thank you! I believe in the power of prayer, even when it doesn't bring the healing we desire. I asked a few friends for prayer on Sunday night, when my headache wouldn't pass, and within about 20 minutes of asking, the headache was gone. So, we appreciate all of your prayers, and all of your support.